Skills games have been and continue to be an ample source of amusement for children. Enhancements, features, and themes that spark a child's imagination and provide continued engagement of the game with the child add to its play value.
One video game line made available for the IPHONE, IPAD and ANDROID mobile devices by the Finland-based developer ROVIO MOBILE LTD is entitled ANGRY BIRDS. As a player enters a level in the ANGRY BIRDS video game, the device displays a structure appearing to be made from various materials including wood, glass or ice and stone. Various-sized and -shaped green pigs appear within the structure. The structure scrolls off-screen and a slingshot with a queue of various-sized, -shaped, and -colored birds scrolls on-screen. The birds serve as projectiles for the slingshot to be launched against one side of the structure. The player launches each bird projectile by touching the mobile device screen with a finger, dragging the finger across the screen to simulate pulling back the projectile in the slingshot pocket, and lifting the finger from the screen to launch the projectile. Additional properties particular to each projectile may be activated by tapping the screen while the bird projectile is in flight. The goal is to knock over the green pigs, either by the projectile birds directly or with portions of the collapsing structure. A bonus area with golden eggs was made available in a later chapter release of the game. Golden eggs hidden throughout the game unlock other levels and features. In some versions of the game, images of wooden crates labeled with “TNT” are interspersed in the structure. When struck, the wooden crate explodes and destroys objects within a short radius and sends objects within a larger radius flying. While the game play of ANGRY BIRDS is fanciful and engaging, it is limited to a single-player virtual world with simulated physics. Furthermore, the ANGRY BIRDS video game lacks the excitement and challenge of a tangible skills game apparatus and methods associated therewith.